


Cloud Cuckoo Land

by HunterHero179



Category: The Owl House (Cartoon)
Genre: Amity is minor in this dont get excited no lumity here, Mild Blood, Minor Violence, The End, creepy man tries to kill luz, eda kills creepy man
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-10-02
Updated: 2020-10-02
Packaged: 2021-03-08 03:27:12
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 12,079
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/26768749
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/HunterHero179/pseuds/HunterHero179
Summary: Balendin stared at her, his face suddenly blank. “Well, Luz, I won’t sugar coat it to you.” His voice was as blank as his face. Luz took more steps back, but he only followed, stopping inches away. He quickly reached out, grabbing her by the wrist, his hand squeezing it. Then, he grinned too wide.“I’ve come to take over your body.”Or a creepy man with a broken body tries to destroy Luz's mind to take over her own body. Eda isn't happy about that.
Comments: 6
Kudos: 37





	Cloud Cuckoo Land

**Author's Note:**

> This came to me in a very lucid and vivid dream and took a month to write out. Thanks to my friend Chloe for reading it over for me and supporting me.

It was a surprisingly quiet night in the Boiling Isles, which meant something bad was going to happen.

The moon shined down, full and eerie in its own light. Clouds gathered around it, like flies around a rotting carcass. Not a sound could be heard in the forest, except for the rustling of bushes and leaves, heading towards a familiar setting, but that is for later in the story. Bonesborough stood still, activity done within the town, even the Night Market had nothing going on. The people slept deeply, although some were unsettled by the quietness at first. It was never this quiet. Hell, it was never and it made them wonder.

The Owl House was fully in the moon’s light, all its inhabitants asleep. Even Hooty slept more deeply than usual, his snores sounding extremely loud in the noiseless night. From the giant glass eye window, light gathered inside Eda’s room as she slept away in her nest, casting her in the moon’s gaze. Downstairs in the living room, King was curled up, dreaming about world domination and perhaps a good belly rub. He had been in Luz’s room earlier, but some time in the night, he wanted to sleep in a different place. Luz was tucked away in her sleeping bed, laying on her back, half of her face covered by the bag’s flap. They all were soundly asleep, their brains creating dreams and wonders.

Which is why nobody heard the window breaking.

A shadow crept around the kitchen, highlighted by the moon. It paused, taking in the scene. Nothing moved within the house. Then, slowly, as silent as the current night, it started to move. It made its way into the living room, taking only a momentary glance at King, who remained asleep, before heading upstairs. The floorboards creaked as the shadow moved down the hallway, passing Eda’s room without stopping. It kept moving until it reached a certain door. There, it took another pause, one full of thought and doubt. A deep sigh echoed in the empty hallway. A hand reached out, grasping the doorknob with a careful touch, and gently pushed the door open.

It opened slow and steady, the shadow stretching over the prone body of Luz. The door stopped just inches from the wall and the shadow stood there, looking. Luz was none the wiser.

The shadow’s owner stepped into the room, mindful to walk around the sleeping bed and the creaking floorboards, so as to not wake the human. He had a hunch over appearance and he winced every time a twinge came down his spine. The shadow -no, the man, the owner of said shadow- dropped down to his knees near the side of Luz’s head, stifling a groan. Damn spine. Damn _everything_. His hand came out of his pockets and he almost went to pat her head, but stopped. This was business, he couldn’t treat her in such a soft manner. He had to pretend it was not a living being, just an object. Instead, he pulled the sleeping bag down to Luz’s knees and one of his hands went back into his pocket.

His hand came out again a few seconds later, with a thick charcoal pencil wrapped around its palm. He leaned over, his eyes darting to Luz’s face and to what he was doing. With the pencil, he started to draw on her shirt, light enough so she wouldn’t feel it and awaken, but with enough pressure to show. He was aware how creepy it was, doing this, but he pushed past it, knowing he had no ill intentions, not in that manner anyways. He drew a large circle first, where it kissed the edges of the shirt. Then, inside said circle, he drew a symbol.

A rune, per say.

He lifted up his pencil, looking down at his work. One more glance at Luz. Still asleep. Good, great. He put the pencil back into his pocket, feeling his fingertips brush against the rest of the clutter inside, took a breath, readying himself for the experience. Looming over the girl, he felt his back give a painful twinge and he winced. Well, he wouldn’t have to deal with that any longer, now would he? He grinned, his teeth larger than life and as bright as neon yellow. He took his hand and sparing a look at her face one final time, he pressed it down on her shirt. Hard.

And Luz opened her eyes. Fear swelled inside them, her eyes wide, and she had a chance to say, “What are you-” before it all happened.

By God, what an experience.

* * *

There was something pressing on his face and King was a damn good idea who it was.

His eyes shot open and he hissed at Hooty, who backed away a little but didn’t leave King’s space all that much. The house demon had an annoying smile on his face, which meant he was in a talkative or a mischievous mood. Probably both, knowing him.

“Hey, good morning!” the door owl said, stringing his words out way longer than he should have. He twisted himself around, poking his beak into King’s face as much as he could. Ah, so he was in a mischievous mood this morning. Great.

“Away with you!” King smacked Hooty in the face, then fell off of the couch in an ungraceful manner, not that he’d admit that. He jumped up with a ‘weh!’ and ran up the stairs, ignoring whatever Hooty was chattering about. Didn’t matter, he wasn’t in the mood for Hooty. He was in an eating mood. He had Luz to wake up so she could feed him, preferably something with sprinkles.

King passed by Eda’s room, knowing fully that the Owl Lady wasn’t going to be up unless it was noon or someone made her. Luz, however, was usually awake by now, all chipper and ready to go. She was probably in her room, watching something on that rectangle thing of hers. A morning person, she called herself, which was great because it meant he wasn’t lonely and had to wait until Eda woke up. She was willing to make him food too, which was an extra and wonderful bonus. He also decided he wanted pancakes and he wanted them _now_!

He fast walked to her room, the order to make pancakes with sprinkles on his tongue, when he stopped in his tracks. The beating in his chest sped up and he bunched his paws together. This was bad, bad, bad, _bad_.

Luz’s door shouldn’t be open. Not at all.

He shook his head, his dog tag twinkled as he did. Well, maybe she just left it open last night, even though he saw her close it before he went to bed, and he had closed it behind when he had left. Or she decided to open it in the middle of the night! Yeah, that makes sense. Nothing to worry. Even if he was worried, all he had to do was go into the room and check. Good thing he was going in anyways, not because he was concerned in the slightness or anything.

King waddled closer to the door, a paw on the door frame. He closed his eyes, arguing to himself. There was no reason to be scared, there was no reason to be scared, there was no reason-

He looked into the room and froze.

One second, two seconds, three seconds, four. There he stood for a good fifteen seconds, staring and gaping. Then, like he had been shot, he suddenly turned around and ran to Eda’s room, his panting punctuating his words. “ _Eda! Eda!_ Something’s very _wrong_!”

King slammed the door open, which banged harshly into the wall, running to Eda’s nest, still screaming at the top of his lungs. He jumped onto the bedside table, knocking down knick knacks and empty potion bottles, staring down at a groggy and slightly pissed off Eda. She put her head up barely, dipping up and down as she spoke, or muttered, really. “What’re you yammering about this time?”

She let her head drop back down, ready to go back to sleep and ignore whatever King was saying, but she shot up when he said, “It’s Luz! There’s- Her door was open and- _There’s some man there_!”

“ _What_?”

He rapidly nodded, grabbing her hand and tugging her away. She went willing enough, pausing only to call over her staff. "Come on!"

They ran down the hall to Luz’s room, King once again panting, and Eda scrunching her face up as she thought out the possibilities. Someone got inside of the Owl House, that was for sure. But for what? And why were they in Luz’s room and not her own? Were they just here for Luz? That sent a cold spike through her heart.

She wasn't hesitant to burst into the kid’s room, staff ready to hit a bitch. King stayed behind, watching from the doorframe. She looked down and a confused surprise passed by her face. What… was this?

On the floor was the man and Luz, the man’s hand resting on her stomach. From both of their eyes and mouths came a beacon glow, rising towards the roof where it stopped. They laid prone and parallel from each other. From the looks of it, Luz was barely out of her sleeping bag, which was strange and disturbing. As if he had snuck up on her asleep and did... Well. Whatever this was.

Eda lowered her staff a little, unsure if there was no direct danger to her at the moment. She pursed her lips, her gold fang jutting out a little, as she thought. From behind her, King waddled over and grasped her leg with a single paw. “Do you know what’s wrong?” he said in a quiet tone, keeping his eyes on the two bodies on the floor. When he looked at the man, those eyes narrowed.

Bending over, Eda slapped the man’s hand off of Luz with the end of her staff. It didn’t stop that weird glow from happening, but she didn’t like seeing him touching her kid like that or in any way. She had half a mind to swing her staff over his head until it cracked open, but she didn’t know what would happen if she did and that beacon glow stayed.

“I don’t,” she finally told King. She stood up, putting her free hand on her hip. “But I do know that this is magic and it’s not normal magic at that.”

King let go of her leg, stepping over Luz’s body and crouched besides her head. She looked, otherwise the strange glow, peaceful, in a strange way. He raised his paw and patted her face with a tap, tap, tap. No reaction. He did it one more time for good measure. Nothing. While hitting his friends in the face with a ‘bap!’ was fun, something about her stillness made him uneasy. King pulled his paw back to his chest and looked up at Eda.

She tapped her chin, thinking. Spinning a circle in the air, she levitated the man up from the ground, away from Luz. The farther away, the better. She didn’t want to touch him and levitating the man made it easier to hit his head on the walls. “I don’t know what’s going on or what’s happening, but damn if I’m not figuring it out. Come on, bugger, let’s get this pig outta here. We’ll come back for Luz afterwards.”

Her and King left the room, but not before pulling the sleeping bag over Luz’s body again, making it appear as if she was just sleeping, which would be simple to imagine if not for that glow. Eda cast a glance behind her as she closed the door, eyeing her kid lying there on the floor.

Damn, what the hell was going on?

* * *

It was like when she and Amity were inside Willow’s head, but different in a way.

That was her first thought as her eyes fazed in and out of focus, her head working without her behind the wheel. She raised a hand up, covering her eyes and squinting. Her vision wavered, the room spinning around before finally settling down. From afar, she saw white columns, with brown stretching below and above them. She was laying on the floor, her head feeling airy and empty. After a moment, collecting herself, she lifted herself up onto her knees and properly took in her surroundings.

The white columns were smooth, marble pillars that stretched all the way to the roof, impossibly high, as if trying to touch the sky. Brown tiles lined up on the floor in the shape of small, equal triangles. Tall windows stood behind each of the columns, letting in sunlight, therefore giving the place a comforting and relaxed feel. Yet, when she peeked outside, it showed nothing but a soft black. She took a few steps forwards, her converse shoes clacking against the tiles. She wanted to take in everything she saw.

On the marble pillars were framed pictures, just like in Willow’s head. These pictures were not framed in wood, but in some kind of metal and rectangle in shape, one that was lovingly man-made. She looked at one closest to her, leaning forward as much as she could.

It was her ‘author’s photo’, the one she took at age seven. The one next to that one was a picture of her opening a present, the biggest smile on her face, at age twelve, where she got the cat hoodie shirt she was wearing now. It was like Willow’s memories, but her own this time. She peered down the hall, counting the pillars that ran down it. The task was not possible, the hall seemed to be endless.

This definitely isn't the Owl House, that much was true, and she wasn’t sure where it was. She thought back to what she was doing before this. But nothing that came up matched with anything that could explain it. All she remembered was sleeping in her room and then awaking to-

“Hello. You’re up now, aren’t you?”

Luz spun around on her heels, fists up at her ribs. Her heart pounded violently inside her rib cage, her eyes widened at the voice, which echoed throughout the strange hall. A man stood behind her, his head tilted downwards, his hands hanging limply at his sides. He had half lidded gray eyes, which flickered in little movements inside their sockets. His face was pointed and narrow, as was the rest of his body. It looked as though he was made of all the sharp shapes out there, mashed together to create the man in front of her. Further beyond him was a dark void. A nothingness. It was creepy, to say the least.

She blinked, lowering her hands and scrunching her brows. “You’re… you’re the guy that was in my room.”

“Ah. Yes. I was.” He grinned, his teeth a disgusting bright yellow. If he were to grin wider, Luz would see that black, diseased holes were growing back there. But she didn’t want to see and didn’t want to know. “I suppose that was creepy of me, but I have good reason for what I’ve done and what I will be doing. You seem like a very understanding kind of girl. You’ll see.”

He spoke in a mannered tick, enunciating each word with a rich and calculated tongue. Each sentence was ended with a quick two second pause, like he was thinking between each one. But it was laced with an imperious tone, and the look he gave her was one marked with disdain and, weirdly, somewhat liking. All of this together created, to her at least, an ominous air around him.

A gnawing sensation crawled down Luz’s spine, but she ignored it. She smiled at the man, who stared with that yellow grin still on his face. “Well, I am! But I don’t know what’s happening or what you’re doing, so-”

“It would be confusing, wouldn’t it?” He grinned a little more, but she didn’t feel any better. His eyes felt flinty and the grin like rubber. She took a step back, her returning smile a touch nervous.

He suddenly sighed, his grin easing into something a bit softer, smaller. His eyes darted away from her face and he looked off to the side, said eyes still vibrating. “Being outside of what I used to inhabit has been good for me, I’d say. No more stabbing in my nerves, isn’t that a blessing. Although my eyes are being a bother still. I am Balendin and I know you are Luz, that human around town, yes?"

She nodded. The man, or Baledin, sighed again. It had a saddened and disappointed sound to it, as if he was upset that she was what he thought. He moved closer to her, still a good foot away, causing her to step back again. As he moved, the dark void behind him expanded, following his movement. That made it creepier than before and Luz felt a sinking feeling deep in her chest. She couldn’t tell if it was terror or not.

“What-” She spared a glance at the void. It seemed to twitch in place at a steady pace, like a heartbeat. “What’s going on, Mr. Balendin? What were you doing in my room, which was really weird and creepy if I’m gonna be honest?” She abruptly laughed, a nervous twitter that was unlike her usual laughter.

Balendin stared at her, his face suddenly blank. “Well, Luz, I won’t sugar coat it to you.” His voice was as blank as his face. Luz took more steps back, but he only followed, stopping inches away. He quickly reached out, grabbing her by the wrist, his hand squeezing it. Then, he grinned too wide.

“I’ve come to take over your body.”

* * *

“Alright, it’s been hours and we still have no _clue_ what this douchebag did to Luz.”

Eda tossed the old spellbook off to some corner behind her, furrowing her brows and sighing. King was still focused on his own book, although by the look of his face, he didn’t expect to find anything other than the same result from the other damn books. Which was nothing. A whole _lot_ of nothing. She sighed again and rubbed her face, thinking.

They had moved the man into a closet, letting the door hit his face as they closed it. She hoped he felt it. Then they brought Luz down into the living room with them as they looked into what the damn issue could be, resting her body onto the couch where Eda was now. She didn’t like how limp and lifeless the kid’s body moved, like she was a ragdoll for some reckless brat to play with. It was creepy, to say the least. She had wrapped Luz up in a blanket, then sat down with the kid’s legs over her lap, and at the moment, Luz looked almost peacefully asleep. Of course, if you ignored the lights coming out of her eyes and mouth. Those eerie beacons.

“Aahh, there’s nothing useful here!” King shouted, throwing the book away, letting it hit the wall and clatter to the floor. He banged his fists on his legs in a fit of rage. He stood, waddling over to the couch and climbed up onto the armrest. “How are we suppose to help her if we don’t know what’s wrong!”

“I don’t know, but we’re going to find out one way or another.”

Eda leaned back on the couch, careful not to jolt Luz’s legs too much. She looked at the beacons for a moment, narrowed her eyes in thought, then she reached out and put her hand in its path. It passed through her hand and had a warm sensation to it, but it did nothing more than that. She moved her hand away. Again, nothing. With a groan, she banged her head on the couch’s back, thinking harder.

King sat on her lap, sitting on top of the pair of legs and stared at Luz with a worried look on his skulled face. “Do you… do you think it was some kind of body swap gone wrong?”

She snorted. “Where’d you get that idea?”

“Well, it looks the same as the spell did. Just stuck in her body or whatever.”

Eda took another glance at the kid. Yeah, the little bugger was right, it was the same as the body swap spell. But, was it a body swap gone wrong? She never saw something like this in any body swap mess up she’s done. And why would some guy want a teenage girl’s body? That was creepy. _Extremely_ creepy.

She tapped her chin, straightening her back and throwing her other arm over her shoulders. “Hmm, as much I hate to say it, I might need help on this.”

“From who?”

A groan, this one suffering and exaggerated. “From my sister. Which I also hate to say. But I don’t know where she is…”

“But she knows where you are,” the little demon teased.

“Don’t remind me,” Eda muttered. She tapped her chin again, summoning her staff where it was leaning against the wall to her, and then levitating Luz’s body off of the couch. Still limp, which was still weird and gross to look at. After a moment of thought, she both decided to just carry the kid in her arms instead, and she figured out where the best place to find her dear sister was.

“Come on, King,” she said, opening the Owl House’s door and walking out into the open. The demon followed close behind, his eyes darting back to Luz every now and then. 

“We have to go visit that rich kid Luz is always talking about.”

* * *

Whoever was throwing rocks at her window was getting a fist in the face, either her own or a magical fist. Either way, they were getting a knuckle sandwich.

If she had to guess, it was probably her siblings because they were annoying like that. God forbid if those two slackers ever got bored, that meant annoying her to death. She bent over her desk, hand clutching the quill, twisting her face in an effort to ignore the rock thrower again. Half an hour of hearing the ‘bonk’ noise from her window, her being scared they’ll throw a bigger rock and break it. Of all the times to bother her, it was right when she was writing in her diary, which of course, they’d _know_ -

Another pebble pecked at the glass and she slammed her fist down. Her desk rattled. _Okay then_. She stood up, stomping over to her window and pulling it open with a violent yank, threatening to break the glass herself. “If you two don’t-”

“Finally!” Well, that wasn’t either of her siblings. She blinked, leaning further out of her window and looking down. Yeah, no, that was the Owl Lady? “We’ve been throwing rocks for half an hour by now! Come down here!”

The Owl Lady stood at the edge of the Blight property with something slung over her shoulder, beckoning her over with a single finger. King jumped up and down by her side while yelling something incoherent. But she didn’t see Luz with them, which was strange in and of itself. If they were here, Luz should be too. They were like an inseparable trio and this sight was weirding her out.

“Where’s Luz?” She decided to say back. Eda and King glanced at each other and she could sense the silent conversation they shared. A slight creepy began to crawl down her back. Something was wrong.

“That’s why we’re here! We need to see my sister. _Yuck_ , we need her _help_.” Eda looked pained to even force out the words. Amity frowned, eyes still searching for the strange human.

“For what?” It came out more suspicious than she meant.

“Wha- Will you just come down here!”

With a sigh, Amity did so leaving the window open and thanking her lucky stars that none of her family was home. How was she going to explain why a fugitive was here wanting to speak with her? They didn’t even know about Luz, at least her parents didn’t, and she didn’t plan on telling them any time soon. Out her room, down the stairs, through the hall. She went out the front door and met Eda at the property entrance.

Within a few feet from the Owl Lady, she finally saw what was slung over Eda’s shoulder and she froze. That was-

“What _happened_!”

Eda shrugged, her expression a sharp contrast from the nonchalance in her posture. She looked mad, perhaps even scared. Amity’s eyes shifted and focused on Luz’s face. What were those beacons and why were they in her friend’s head?

“We don’t really know,” Eda said, shuffling her shoulder a bit as she felt Luz slipping. She was _not_ letting herself break the kid’s head, damn it. “All we know is that some creepo went into Luz’s room last night and did some spell. Now he’s out of it and so is Luz. I want Lilith’s help, as much I _loathe_ it.”

“And you know where she is!” The little demon exclaiming, pointing a finger at the witchling. He stomped a foot down. “So tell us!”

Now, Amity wasn’t what one would call an impulsive person. She was smart and calculating, always cautious about every step she stood, observant of her surroundings. It came both naturally to her and was a defense mechanism against the expectations of the people around her. There was a reason why she was top student at Hexside, after all.

But, for some reason- meaning she did know the reason yet didn’t want to acknowledge it- when something involved Luz, she lost all common sense and threw herself into that something without a second thought. This was the case now.

“You don’t need her!” She blurted out, then exhaled. The two stared at her. Still acting on the impulse, she pushed forward, pretending their eyes weren’t on her. “I mean- I can do it for you. Yeah.”

“ _You_?” Eda said, almost disbelieving. Almost. She put a finger on her chin, swaying her jaw to the side as she thought. “Hmm, well. You are my sister’s pupil, aren’t you? And you wouldn’t go to the Emperor afterwards. Would you?” She gave Amity a pointed look.

Amity rapidly shook her head. “No! No, no. That would put Luz in danger! More danger than she is in, but-”

Eda raised a hand and she stopped talking. “Alright, kid, come on. We’ll have you home before Mommy and Daddy find out.”

The duo turned and started to walk away. Amity stared, watching Luz’s body sway back and forth as Eda walked, strangely limp. Then she shook her head, not believing the situation she had gotten roped into, and followed.

* * *

She truly believed that everyone could be good. That everyone could be nice and kind and understanding if they tried. Some people are just misguided, mean and nasty because either of how they were raised or how their environment molded them. She truly, deeply, and surely believed people were naturally good. This was not out of a naiveness, but an attitude she held onto during her life.

But this man? Mr. Balendin?

No, no goodness. Whatever heart he had was shiverled and unused. Maybe once, a long time ago, he had something nice inside of him. But it was discarded in the past, where it grew moldy and black, worthless. Somehow, she thought maybe that heart of his came that way, that it was never healthy and of use. This man, Mr. Balendin, was churlish, someone she didn’t want to interact with ever.

She had to, in this case. If she wanted to keep her body, her mind, her soul, she had to fight this gross man until he was gone. Or, her thoughts supplied despite her optimism, he destroyed her forever.

He didn’t fully explain his plan to her, like all villains seem to do in the books and shows she watched. Not in words, at least. But his actions, which she watched more carefully than anything now, told her everything she needed to know.

She had pulled her wrist away from his grip and he made no movement to reattempt it. Instead, he walked past her, their shoulders bumping roughly against each other, nearly knocking her down. The void behind him did not follow this time while he moved, but it still twitched in place in that rhythmic beat. Luz gazed at the void for a few seconds, then turned around. She didn’t want to look at that darkness any longer than she had to. Gave her the chills.

“I can’t promise it won’t hurt or be peaceful,” Balendin was saying, walking down the row of pillars in a slow way that almost pained her to watch. He swerved out to the right, stopping in front of one of the said pillars. This photo was her reading _The Good Witch Azura_ for the first time at age nine. He ran a finger down the frame, his face blank. “But I’ll try making it quick, that much I can say.”

He grabbed the picture frame, lifting it up and removing it off the pillar. With a single move, he then took the actual picture out of the frame. Luz started forward, a hand outstretched. “Hey, w-”

Suddenly he pulled the photo apart, ripping it into two pieces. Luz gasped, clutching her shirt under one tight fist. Something was expanding her chest and killing _her_. Her lungs were being pushed and pulled, her ribs aching. She could feel a hot, biting _thing_ wiggling underneath her skin, like a parasitic worm finding the right place to eat. She collapsed to her knees, palms smacking against the tile, sucking in breath like she was drowning. She was drowning, she was certain, but not with water. With some other liquid, some evil, disgusting _thing_ that was trying to kill her, pushed all the air out of her lungs so it could take residence. She tried to take in a gasp, but nothing would fill her lungs.

Balendin kept ripping the photo until he could hold the entire thing in one hand. He dropped the pieces, small enough to be confetti, watching them flutter to the floor in a gentle, slow way. Luz took in another gasp and could breathe normally again, although her lungs still felt a little heavy, like a bag of rocks were resting at the bottom of them. She staggered back onto her feet, caught her balance, and glanced at him. He didn’t turn around, still leering at the confetti on the floor.

“See, I told you. Won’t be peaceful or won’t hurt, but I can be quick. Very quick, if you don’t get in the way,” he said, soft but firm. “And I suggest that you don’t, Luz. It won’t be good for either of us.”

“Why-” She paused, coughing harshly. There were barbed wire in her lungs and throat. Balendin stayed silent. “Why are you doing this? What’s the-” More coughing, each one getting less painful before it trickled to nothing but relief. “-point?”

Now he circled around, looking at her like she was a bother. Like she should keep her mouth shut and let him do this without a single complaint. He seemed peeved, annoyed that she was asking questions and not taking it lying down. Then his face wiped clean, leaving nothing but a vacancy one’s face shouldn’t have. Luz, already scared of him, felt her heartbeat in her throat.

“What used to be my body had a disease. Two big words that I doubt someone as young as you can pronounce. Ankylosing spondylitis. Go on, Luz. Try and say it, if you want.” 

He spoke in a bitter, childish whine, his face losing that vacant look the more he talked. It was being filled with an angry, resentful expression that was morphing his face into one of a gargoyle.

She shook her head at his suggestion.

“Told you. It’s a disease I’ve been cursed with. By Mother Nature, of all people. I can’t get rid of it and I refuse to live in pain. It makes you tired, it brings sharp knives into your spine, it breaks your bones if it thins enough. I can’t do magic the right way most of the time and have to do it your way. Life is not worth it in that waste of a body. But, yours?”

Now he smiled, exposing his neon yellow teeth. Luz imagined the terrible smell his breath would have and was relieved he wasn’t close enough for her to figure that out. She recoiled from his smile.

“Your body is fit, painless, and young. I don’t care about the gender part, never have. What I care about is that your body is the opposite of my old one. I know that with yours, I won’t die in pain. The only problem is that your spirit is still here. What makes your body yours is still in this place.”

“Because it _is_ mine,” Luz said.

His grin grew, all thirty two teeth on display. She winced. “No. Not anymore soon enough. And you can’t do anything about it. You’re just a human, can’t even make a spell circle. I do mind about losing my magical ability the real way, always have, but right now? I’m _loving_ it.”

Luz gulped. Balendin turned back around, walking down the hallway, close to one row of pillars. When he moved enough away, she went over to the torn bits of the picture, ignoring the wheezing she was doing. She bent down, careful about her hands and knees, scooping up as much of the pieces as she could. Her breathing was getting under control and she could truly focus again.

She looked down at the torn up photo in her hands, then closed her eyes. In her mind- or, she supposed, the mind inside her mind- she imagined what it looked like before Balendin ripped it apart. Her sitting on the floor, criss cross applesauce, her tongue sticking out of her mouth and touching the top of her lip. Hair still wild and unkempt from waking. Her hand pointing at the words in the hardcover book, following each line carefully as her eyes followed. Her pajamas, white with yellow otters floating in that whiteness, her socks colored pink with white toes and heels. It was easy to see it in the mind inside her mind.

Her hands were holding something more solid now. More shape to it, not just light confetti in her palms. She opened her eyes and saw that the photo was back to normal. Furrowing her brows, she turned it over and over, trying to find any tear or wear, finding none. Just the same pristine photo from before. She was in awe. Luz suddenly grinned, standing up with a swift movement. She put the photo back in its proper place on the pillar, then followed Belendin.

He didn’t make as much progress as she expected. The way he moved was in a slow, calculated manner, with his back bent almost in half. His legs were stiff as he walked, as if he couldn’t bear bending his knees at any point in time. His toes dragged onto the floor, making a rustling noise with each step. Arms lightly swung by his sides, his fingers twitching absentmindedly. Belendin, while confident and pleased with his painless body now, seemed to have forgotten how to walk normally.

“Hey, mister!” She called out, her voice echoing throughout the hall. Balendin paused, looked over his shoulder, and raised a brow. His spine creaked. She pointed at him. “ _I’m_ gonna stop you! This is my body and you can’t have it!”

He gave out a small, contemptuous chuckle. “Really, Luz? Is that how you’ll be playing this game, then? You don’t want to go out quietly? I told you I’d be quick if you didn’t get in the way.”

Luz pulled on her bravest face, fists hanging like boulders by her sides. “This is _my_ body! And I’m going to fight for it!”

Balendin turned his head forward and went on walking, hunched over even more. “We’ll see, Luz. We’ll see who gets to keep this body. And, Luz? I think I know who will win. I think I do.”

She followed him while taking care to be a few feet away from Balendin, readying herself for that drowning sensation again, because she knew that until she figured out a true way to expel the man from her mind, she’d have to fix those photos over and over again after he destroyed them. That’d give her time to think of a solution, albeit a dangerous way to gain time. Maybe she could try taking them away from his hands? But he’d only go to the next one. Thankfully, he was slow and she was quick as ever. She’ll have time to solve this puzzle, she’ll make it through. Mr. Balendin won’t win, she told herself as she watched him take down another photo. She was sure of it.

Sure of it.

Yeah.

* * *

Well, things were worse than she thought. Much worse.

Amity looked down at the man’s body, her face scrunched up in disgust and scorn. Her hands were balled up besides her and she lightly kicked the man with her foot. He, of course, didn’t do much about that, not even a twitch. Disappointing, to say the least. Somewhere behind her, she could hear the Owl Lady and King arguing over where to place Luz down. Her sleeping bag on the floor or the couch? That was the ever burning question.

She knew what had happened. Damn if she didn’t. She should’ve known from the first time she saw those lights coming out of Luz’s face, but she wasn’t in the right state of mind to actually recall such information. Now, as she stood over the man, who shared the same beacons as Luz did, she knew exactly what happened.

What this man had done was a mind takeover spell. Something most people, or at least sane people, would never attempt or do to another living being. A taboo and immoral thing to do, and anyone with a sense of empathy knew that. This man, however, was decidedly not alright in the head, if he did this to Luz. The question she had, her own ever burning question, was why? Why a human, why Luz, why a mind takeover spell, and why did he do it?

Behind her, that burning question from before had been solved and Luz now laid on the couch, her sleeping bag unzipped and covering her as a blanket substitute. Eda walked over, putting a hand on Amity’s shoulder, ignoring how she stiffed for a second then relaxed. They both looked down at the man, a shared look of disgust on their faces. In almost imitation of what Amity had done earlier, Eda kicked the man’s side and got no reaction for her efforts.

“Are you gonna explain what happened or just stand there gawking?” Eda bent down, crouching besides the bastard. With a certain ease, she started rummaging inside of his pockets in search of some I.D or anything of that sort, using one hand while the other tapped on her knee.

“It’s a mind takeover spell,” Amity said, slipping into the tone she used when explaining something. Lilith would recognize the tone well. “The spell is used to transfer one’s mind, or more like spirit really, over into another body. It’s usually used on, well, not living bodies, so most don’t bother with the spell since inhabiting a dead body is not a pleasant experience.”

“And what about living ones?”

“If the transfer is into a living body, then they have to destroy the current spirit inside to gain control. Otherwise, they’ll either get rejected back into their original body or be stuck inside.”

“So they have to kill someone for it, huh?”

Amity nodded. Eda kept digging inside the man’s pockets, her fingers knocking against all sorts of items. She thought maybe he didn’t have any I.D on him, but she was wrong.

Ah, jackpot. Eda felt something brush against her fingertips and she grasped at it, pulling it out of the pocket without a care. A wallet, perfect! She turned it over in her hand, flipping it open as easy as can be. She sorted through the mess of cards and junk, finally finding what she was looking for, that damn I.D. She pulled it out and read what was on it.

“Balendin P. Keech,” she drawled out, scanning the I.D for a little longer, eyes reading each line again. Then she flicked the entire wallet, I.D and all, aside, promptly forgetting about it. “So that’s the bastard’s name. Huh. Didn’t think he was still in Boneborough.”

“You… know him?” Amity asked, furrowing her brows as she watched the older woman stand up and crack her back.

“Yep, back in my school days.” She looked down at Balendin, thinking. “Had some sort of back problem. Always walked funny because of it. Was so bad he dropped out of Hexside halfway through.”

And from the looks of it, it had gotten worse between then and now. His back was bent over in a way that was painful to look at and most likely painful to be in. It looked gnarly and knotted, poking out of the layer of clothing he wore. His face, if one were to ignore the beacons, had an agonized and aggrieved expression on it, even with no one inside that wasted body.

What she remembered about Balendin, otherwise known as Keech, was that he was grumpy sod who rather complain about his back all day. He was always angry, always having either a creepy grin on his face or looking like a blank slate. He hated his back, hated the weird disease he had. Sometimes he swore he’d replace it one day somehow. So, she thought as she turned and walked away, he decided that my kid was the perfect replacement. Bastard.

Amity followed her, leaving Balendin in the closet with the door open. “So, kid, what can you do about this takeover spell? _Can_ we do anything about it?” Eda said, waving a hand around in circles as she spoke.

They went into the living room, a lull of silence drifting between them as Amity thought up an answer. Careful with Luz, they both sat on the opposite ends of the couch, Luz’s head in Eda’s lap and her feet in Amity’s. They glanced at each other, a simple understanding passing through that look. It carried a fondness for the human girl and the two turned their eyes to her, that fond expression becoming softer. Leaning back into the couch, Amity pondered over what she knows about the spell.

“We could-”

Suddenly one of Luz’s eye beacons flickered. Both witches watched as the light turned on, then off, on, then off, like someone was flicking the switch rapidly. Each time it was off, Luz’s big brown eye looked up at the ceiling in that sightless way the blind had. It flashed one more time and then remained turned on. Eda and Amity blinked.

“Oh no,” Amity muttered to herself, a hand gripping Luz’s ankle. “That’s… not good.”

“Why? What’s going on?” Eda narrowed her eyes, a hand protectively in Luz’s hair. “Was that something bad?”

“It- It means that the man in there is destroying whatever makes Luz Luz. Like you said before, killing her to make room for himself. I don’t think he did much damage if that light is back on, but if we don’t hurry, he might-”

“He might take over, won’t he?” The solemn tone made Amity stop and nod. She looked at Luz while Eda fell silent, wanting the Owl Lady to have some time to think.

Glancing down at Luz, running a hand through her hair with a gentleness almost no one else got, Eda thought about what would happen to the poor kid if the bastard took control. Would she just be gone, as in fully dead? Leaving behind a husk? All that loveable, dorky, brave, and damn smart weirdo crumbled into dust, letting that man, Mr. Balendin P. Keech, use what was left as some kind of replacement? What she remembered about Balendin was that he was a mean, cold, pessimistic scumbag who didn’t give a rat about anyone else besides himself and his back problem. What she knew about Luz was a kind hearted, brave kid who wanted the best for everyone.

She didn’t want Balendin to take over. She didn’t want to lose _her_ kid, lose Luz and her happy, clever ways of doing things. She didn’t want the damn rotter to take over _her_ Luz. If anything, what she wanted was his ass back in that atrophied body and to kick him out with a swift swing of her staff to the face. No, her hand gliding through the human’s soft hair, she wanted her kid back. Balendin P. Keech could bite it.

“Blight,” she said, her voice a deadly calm. Amity snapped her eyes up from Luz’s face, listening. “I don’t care how we do it or what the risks are, you tell me how to get into my kid’s mind so I can fight off that fucker _now_.”

A beat of pause. Amity looked a little surprised by the curse word, but shook it off. A thoughtful expression came onto her face. “You remember that spell you did when we needed to help Willow?”

Eda grinned devilishly. “I sure do.”

* * *

Luz wheezed, her knees shaking as she struggled to walk on, her leg muscles twitching. Her body shivered and shuddered with waves of pain, interlaced with flashes of coldness that soaked her nerves. A thin trail of blood ran down from her nose, dripping down to the tiled floor in a trail of little dots. She walked, the sound of her footsteps heavier than it was before, a flat slap sound. She walked with a heavy, but carefully steady focus, following Balendin with her feet and eyes as he moved down the hall.

He won’t win, he won’t win, he won’t win, he _won’t_ -

She played this in her head as she walked, stumbling like a newborn filly. He walked in his slow, intended way, but she moved slower than him despite this. Yes, she had been quicker before, when she had all her strength behind her each step, but now she was the slowest turtle in this race. Another wheeze and Luz swore she could taste a hint of copper.

As it turned out, in a twist of evil, mocking fate, the more Balendin tore up those photos, the more damage she took. Each tear, each rip, each time he shred up a photo with his hands, her body degraded more and more. It reversed a little when she repaired the pictures, but her will power was draining and each photo was becoming harder to fix. She hadn’t thought about it, the damage to her body with this game, if she were to be honest. It wasn’t a consequence she thought could happen and it wasn’t her fault it never came to mind. But, she thought as she walked, she sure wished she did think of it.

Balendin glanced behind him and gave her that big neon yellow grin of his. “Still trying, Luz?” Taunting, teasing, it was unbecoming of a grown man, but he didn’t seem to care. “Come on, now. I know it must hurt. Just… lay down, I’ll be quick. Promise.”

She glared at him. “N-no wa-ay.”

He grinned wider, a mocking expression of sympathy settling down on his face. “Have it your way, Luz. The offer is always on the table.”

Watching him walk away, she wheezed again, ignoring the sudden shake of her lungs. It was getting harder to focus on walking, breathing, or anything besides the raging pain rushing through her body. But if she was anything, it was resilient. She had a goal in mind, something she was determined to get, come what may. Balendin can be smug, condensing, and mean, but she would see the light at the end of the tunnel while he was left in the dark. She would see to it.

Balendin reached a pillar, reaching a lazy hand and grabbing the photo hanging off of it. Her and Eda, laughing at King trying to remove a sock from his nose. She remembered that moment. There, she had realized that she belonged with them, that they were a part of her family. Luz grinned at the memory, which disappeared as quickly as it came when Balendin started to tear up the photo.

That drowning sensation again. Her lungs clenched together, cutting off her breath as she slowly sunk to her knees in a strange, graceful way. She put a hand on her chest, as if to give herself CPR on the fly. Her eyes bulging out of her head, she watched Balendin’s face as he looked down at her. Lofty grin, conceited eyes. He let the pieces fly softly down to the ground and stood there, staring at Luz. He did so like she was a zoo exhibit, she thought. Like an animal trapped in a cage and all he felt was a vague feeling of pity towards it. Towards her. She darted her eyes down to the photo pieces and tried to crawl over to them. Note that word there.

Tried.

He gazed at her, watching her struggle to move, her legs protesting against her wishes. Her lungs refused to work and that taste of copper overwhelmed her mouth. If she opened her mouth, she was sure a faucet of blood would come running out. So she kept it closed, with some effort, and instead made the ripped up photo her focal point. She had to get to it, had to get to it, ha-

“Luz,” Balendin said and his tone made her pause. She glanced up. He still looked down at her, but for the first time, he no longer had a patronizing feel to him. Instead, it was pure pity and sympathy behind those eyes, that slight frown on his face. She looked at him and wondered.

“W-” She coughed. Her lungs fluttered painfully, then relaxed. A deep, aching breath, then she went on. “Wh-hat do y-you want, n-now?”

No brimming optimism and joy in her voice now. Just a gritty, forced out tone that said ‘ _Don’t mess around, don’t sugarcoat it, happy who_?’ She kept a stony, almost angry face, which sat unfamiliar and uncanny on her. Balendin hummed.

“You look pathetic,” he muttered out, bending down to her level. Eye to eye, he hummed again. “But what else could you look like in a situation like this?”

She said nothing. Couldn’t, as her lung seized up on her again. She started to cough and Balendin looked on. He continued once she stopped.

“I should say, I didn’t expect you to last this long. You’re quite the kicker, aren’t you, Luz? You didn’t know what these destroyed pictures could do to you despite your efforts, but you keep on going. I’m impressed.” He grinned. “But not enough to stop.”

She breathed in, repressing a wheeze. “Why.”

Quiet. Pleading. So unlike her. If anyone she knew heard that, their heart would break. This Luz was breaking down. He hummed a third time. His hand dragged across the tiled floor, running through the photo pieces like a stick through water. He picked up one of the bigger pieces, bringing it up to see. Luz’s face, her laughing with her eyes closed, a hand up to her mouth. Pure happiness on display. He grinned at it, then brought the photo piece closer to her.

“Why what, Luz?” He asked, his grin mellow. He lifted one of her hands up, placing the piece in her palm and wrapping her fingers over it. “Tell me what you mean, unless it’s hard to talk for you.”

She gulped, grounding herself with that photo piece in her hand. “Why… me?”

He nodded, like he expected the question and just wanted her to say it out loud. Maybe that was the case. “Why did I choose you over the other little children in town, the little witchlings with real magic in their bodies?”

He reached out, grabbing Luz by the back of her shirt collar. He pulled her up, yanking roughly on her shirt without a care. He dragged her close to him, leaning her weakened body against his side. Then, he smiled. Not a grin, just a simple, almost friendly smile. She didn’t trust it.

“You’re special,” he said. “Not in a creepy way, mind you, Luz. I mean, you’re the only human here, aren’t you? Miss Luz the Human, one of a kind in the Boiling Isles. And I must say, I _like_ the idea of being one of a kind. You’re perfect for that, Luz. Just perfect.”

He ran a gentle hand down her face, starting from her temple all the way under her chin. She winced, unable to do anything about it. Her body had given up the ghost, weak and useless for the time being. Luz fixed her eyes on his face, where he could see all the emotions flashing through them. Fear, loathing, determination, and bravery. What an interesting mix. His hand went up her face, paused at the temple, then made its way back down to under her chin again.

“It’ll be fine. The afterlife, I mean.” His hand moved up and down, up and down, and she hated to admit it, but somehow it was soothing. She resisted the urge to lean into his touch. “I have no idea what beliefs you humans have about what’s after, but I know mine. And I believe sincerely that you’ll be fine afterwards. You’ll be in the stars, such a young life like yours always goes there. Maybe later on, when time has passed enough, you’ll come back. Oh, I have no doubt. A soul that yours can’t truly be destroyed. No soul can. Only scraped away from its vessel and… stored away for later.”

His hand went up and down and up and down, the touch strangely gentle. Paternal. Luz sighed, her body trembling from the beating it had taken and what it imagined the beating it will take after this. His smile seemed to soften and she couldn’t decide if it was deceptive or not.

“I like you, Luz. Have I said that yet? Nearly sorry about what I’m doing because I do like you. No lie. But, unfortunately, I have to do this. I can’t live like how I was before. It was too much. All my life was nothing but pain and feeling my spine bend more and more out of shape. I hope, Luz, that all will be forgiven by you. I really don’t mean any hard feelings behind my actions. I really don’t. Trust me on that.”

He stood up, leaving Luz to collapse on the floor. She wheezed, coughing up something. Red What she coughed up was red. She was coughing up blood, that's what the something was. He didn't look back at her while she hacked and gurgled. Sharpness coated the nerves in her body, her heartbeat in her eyeballs. She didn’t have the energy to look at him, her head tilted towards the floor, but she still could listen.

"Maybe I'll keep these old photos around after you're gone. Didn't even need to tear them all up, since you were insistent on trying. But, I suppose it isn't bad. I get to keep little tokens of you, even if I didn't know you for so long. Just one more and it'll be over, Luz. Promise."

She heard his footsteps walk away, the rustling sound of his toes dragging mixing with the clop of his shoes. She looked at the scattered pieces of that photo, clutching that piece with her laughing face on. But, try as she might, the photo didn’t come back together again like the times before, no matter how much she thought about the way it originally was. Her eyes watered, her ears still pricked with the rustling steps of Balendin. She felt her optimism draining away with dismay, so she inhaled and attempted to at least kneel.

Her arms protested, wobbling and twitching when she flexed them to lift her upper half. She gritted her teeth, doubling her effects. She was tired, her eyelids drooping down against her will and she felt exhaustion seep into her bones. But, she refused to give up. Finally, her arms listened, and she managed to get her knees and hands. Balendin had reached the last photo he was going to tear up. As said before, he was a slow, slow man.

“Don’t,” she whispered, unsure if he’d hear. He did, however, as his head turned and his gaze landed on her worn out, sweaty face. He gave her a soft, yet vile grin.

“Sorry.”

He grabbed the photo, which showed her with her first ever light spell, her awed face luminated by the ball of light, with King sitting on her shoulders. Balendin hummed, that soft, vile grin resting on his face. It was a nice photo, really showing how determined the human was. It also showed him that he had a chance to do magic, just in a quite different way. He put his hands on each side of the photo, taking in one last glance at it. He wasn’t lying when he told her that he liked her. Despite the very short time he got to know her, he thought he’d miss the human a little. Yes, he would.

He started to pull the photo apart, ignoring the pained groans from away. It’ll be over and done soon, he didn’t need to focus on whatever the human was feeling right now. It’ll never amount to the pain and suffering he had over the course of his life. Her hurt was nothing compared to his. Besides, she won’t be in pain soon enough. She can handle it until it is all over. He chuckled to himself, his bitter sense of humor thinking about how she was crying over a few minutes of harm, while he-

Something cracked against the back of his head and in his shock, he dropped the photo on the floor. That something felt like a can of beans, he noted before a wave of anger covered his thoughts. He whipped around, a hand over where the wound was. “ _Who_ -”

A very angry, very sharp scream echoed through the hall as Amity flew through the air and punched Balendin in the face. He staggered back, stepping on the photo and slipping on it. His balance, which was already off and unsteady, tipped and he fell down on the ground. Balendin looked up, his hand on his face where she got him. Amity stared back, looking more pissed off than Luz had seen her. If she was able to focus on the scene in front of her, however.

“What in Titan-” he said, but as once again interrupted by the Owl Lady looming behind Amity, their faces sharing that same angry expression. His face paled.

“Hello, Keech,” Eda said, her arms crossed over her chest, her staff in the middle. “It’s been awhile. Thought you could kill my kid and get away with her body?”

He lurched upward, yet again surprised by the noticeable lack of ache and pain in his spine. Steadying himself, his mind forgetting that he wasn’t like what he was before and didn’t need to do so, he said, “You don’t understand, I need this.”

“Need what? A kid girl’s body because yours is basically useless?” Eda grimaced, her fang glittering in the hall’s light. “You know how _creepy_ that is? Or do you not care? I’m guessing it’s the second one.”

Amity remained silent, keeping her death glare on the man. He, like with Luz’s groans, ignored it. “I was in agony!” He raised his voice to a high yell, shaking his hands at her in emphasis. “I _needed_ another body and Luz was the perfect replacement-”

“Gross!” Eda scoffed, disgust and rage mixing together in her voice. He flinched. “It is and you know it, Keech! You stooped so low since I’ve last seen you.”

“I haven't! I’m desperate! You would be too if you were me!” She was pushing her buttons, he knew that, but he couldn’t help the anger biting his heart, telling him he needed to defend his reasoning, his actions. He needed her to understand, lest his pride be wounded.

She scoffed again, uncrossing her arms, switching her staff into her right hand, and now stalking closer to him. She nudged Amity over gently, who gave her a quick glance before returning her death glare on Balendin. The man stood his ground as she approached, legs made of stone.

“First, you break into my house, then you take over my kid’s mind, then you try killing her, and then!” She scrunched her face up, all the hate rushing into her expression and body. “You try to justify it with some pity card?” She waved the staff in his face, almost mockingly. Her face was of harsh winter. “Thought you were smart about it, didn’t you?”

“I was. I _am_. Smarter than you’ll ever be.” He clicked his tongue, his face matching her own.

Eda suddenly grinned. She spun her staff slowly, her grin widening and widening as she chuckled. “Yeah, well, I’m not some creep who tries to kill teen girls, now am I?”

“I’m not a-”

Her staff smacked into his face, breaking his nose and some of his teeth. His eyes watered, blurring his vision as he stumbled backwards and hitting the pillar behind. Another swing of the staff and he felt something crack in his skull. Eda kept grinning. He fell onto his knees, the photo beneath them. Something was running down his face and over his left eye. He had a good idea that it was blood. A third swing, this time to the back of his head. Now he had a wet trail going down his spine.

He spat, red flying out his mouth in a splatter, and his one open eye sent daggers in Eda’s direction. She just grinned. “Not fun being the vulnerable one, is it, Keech?” She laughed. At him!

A vicious, animalistic grunt from him. Then he looked down for a brief moment, catching sight of the photo. Still technically in one piece, half of it ripped apart. He spread his lips in a attempt of a smile, baring his bloody, broken teeth for all to see. With a laugh, he grabbed the end of the photo, the other end secured under his knees.

“Maybe so, but it’s fun getting the upper hand!”

He ripped the photo in half, laughing. He got to hear a painful scream and a returning cry before all the lights went out for him. Eda had hit him again with the staff, this time hard enough to kill the man. She had sure of it.

No great lost in that.

Eda stared for a good second at the wasted man, thinking about how someone could do something like this, how anyone could think this was okay. But she didn’t want to think about it, not really. She eyed her staff, noting that she owed Owlbert a nice bath afterwards, regardless if the blood transferred back into the real world. He-

“Eda! Come here!”

She whipped her head in the direction of the call. Amity was crouched down next to a limp, dazed looking Luz, who gurgled and murmured nonsense. A small trail of blood ran out of the corner of her mouth and nose, and her eyes were gaining a blank glean over them. In other words?

Luz was dying.

Rushing over to the two girls, Eda dropped her staff to the floor and slid onto her knees. She cradled Luz’s head into her hands, panic flooding her system as she looked at the stupefied face of her kid. “Luz! Don’t you give up on me now!”

The girl made a noise, but otherwise didn’t respond. She blinked, her eyes drifting around before settling on Eda’s face. “Eeee-” she tried to speak, but ended up coughing instead. A light spray of red came out as she coughed.

Amity quickly sorted through her thoughts, ideas and half baked plans flashing in a second in her mind. She darted her eyes wildly, which landed on the torn photo Balendin had before his end. She ran to it, picking up both pieces and running back. She spared no glance at the man. He deserved nothing of the sort.

“Luz,” she muttered, kneeling on the other side of the prone human. Eda gave her a look, but remained silent. As for Luz, her eyes wandered to Amity’s face and waited. “I need to imagine yourself as the way you were before. Like in this photo.”

She held up the two pieces, putting them together. Luz gazed at the picture, seeing her own face looking at the light ball in her hands. She remembered that moment. That excitement and pure joy she felt when the glyph had worked, cheering herself on even with the threat of Beast Eda somewhere nearby. Despite all that was against her, she made magic. She made a ball of light out of a written symbol, doing something no human or witch had done before in a long, long time. King might have been focused on the situation at hand with Beast Eda, but how could she be as focused when she did something amazing? Something nobody thought she could really do?

Amity felt the photo come together again, feeling it be one instead of two. Luz mumbled, but she no longer had a glaze over her eyes. But there still was a running blood trail coming out of her mouth and she still looked terrible. She leaned closer to Luz, who seemed taken aback by such closeness. If it were in any other circumstances, Amity was sure she’d be a flustered mess, but now was not the time.

“You have to remember how it felt before this, Luz. You have to be in control of your inner self.”

“There… there was a black place behind him,” Luz said, seemingly out of context. She gave a single, light chuckle at Eda’s and Amity’s confused face, then wheezed a little. “When I first saw him here, there was a black… void behind him. It stayed where it… it was when he moved, but it twitched… a lot.” Each pause was filled with a painful wheeze. Her lungs were burning and felt moist.

“A void?” Amity frowned, thinking. “I don’t know anything about-”

“Is it still here?” Luz interrupted. She looked around, unable to focus enough on her surroundings. “I think… I think it was just _him_. A part of him.”

Amity and Eda glanced at each other. Wordlessly, Eda passed Luz over to Amity and stood up. She looked around, eyes sharp for a black, twitching void her kid had described. Amity held Luz’s head in the crook of her elbow with her hand on the human’s face, watching Eda. When the witch shook her head and smiled, Amity sighed in relief.

“No, it’s gone,” she told Luz, who returned the sigh. The human raised a hand and grabbed Amity’s own hand. She pressed it closer to her face, sighing again. Amity ignored the way her heart stuttered, trying to pay attention to the now.

“Okay. Okay,” was all she said and then Luz closed her eyes. Eda knelt back down and the two witches waited.

They waited in silence, an air of tension hovering over all three. Eda and Amity shared the same concerned face, brows furrowed, mouths turned slightly down. Luz's face was warm underneath Amity's hand. Eda reached out and took Luz's free hand, squeezing it. She got a returning squeeze back. Somewhere behind them, the torn up photo of Luz, Eda, and King reformed back to its original self. But none of them noticed.

After a long moment, where nothing passed between the three in the sense of verbal communication, Luz opened her eyes and smiled. Letting go of Amity's hand, she wiped the bloody corner of her mouth and said, "Hi."

Eda grabbed Luz and before the girl could react, the witch had her in a tight, warm hug. She blinked, then returned the hug, just as tight. Amity stayed where she was, not wanting to interrupt the moment. That was until a hand blindy grabbed her by the collar of her shirt and pulled her in. She wasn’t sure who had grabbed her, but it didn’t matter. She joined the huddle.

Luz broke the hug by leaning back and smiling at the two. It wasn’t as bright or energetic as it usually was, but it was much different from the near death look she had before. Anything was better than that. She wanted to ask how they came here, but she was tired, honestly. All she wanted to do was go back into her sleeping bag and take a long nap. She deserved it and from looking at Eda, she was sure Eda thought the same thing.

“Alright,” Eda said, slipping into her casual, ‘cool girl’ persona, knowing damn well neither of the girls believed it. She stood up, swept her staff back into her hands, and helped Luz up to her feet. “Blight kid, help us get out of here, will you?”

“Sure thing.”

Luz looked at Amity, grinning like nobody’s business. She reached a hand out to her and the witchling took it, feeling glad that she was here instead of Lilith. And even if she saw a man get beat to death, it was worth it.

* * *

“What’re you going to do with him?” Luz said in a tired, worn out voice.

Eda hummed, dragging Balendin’s body out of the closet it was in. She shrugged, heaved the body over her shoulder, and said, “Eh, I’ll figure something out. This isn’t the first time I had to get rid of a body.”

Luz decided she didn’t want to know the other times. She held the door open as Eda walked out into the night, doing whatever she was doing to get rid of what was left of Balendin. As much as Luz was a nice person, she had to say good riddance.

About an hour earlier, she had seen Amity off, giving her another tight hug before so. Amity had explained to her that Balendin wasn’t dead inside her head, even if Eda did, well, you know him there. It was all just a mental thing, apparently, nothing to worry about. She didn’t understand half of what Amity had said, but she knew it was a magic thing and if Eda or Amity weren’t worried about it, then she felt no need to worry either.

Now, in a quiet house, Luz let her eyelids hang heavy over her eyes, and she yawned loudly. King was asleep on the couch, curled up in a ball. He had been quite happy when Luz came out of it, and he had clinged to her like a vine, scared that if he wasn’t there, Luz would slip away again. But he slept soundly on the couch now and she gave his forehead a kiss before heading up to bed.

In her room, snug in her sleeping bag, she looked up at the ceiling. She smiled to herself, closed her eyes, and went to sleep.

It was a surprisingly quiet night in the Boiling Isles, but this time, it meant only a quiet night and sound dreams. In the Owl House, all was right and all was well. And no bad men broke in through the back. In other words?

It was a good night.


End file.
